dig-eon



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. DIGEON.

CALL SYSTEM (No Model No. 448,322. Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

* i W MImummiw 'MIIIII UNITE STATES PATENT (lemon.

LOUIS DIGEON, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

CALL SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,322, dated March 17, 1891. Application filed November 1, 1887- Serial No. 253,975. (No model.) Patented in France March 16, 1887, No. 182,223.

To (0% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS DIGEON, a citizen of the French Republic, residing at Paris, in the French Republic, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Call Systems, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent in France hearing date of March 16, 1887, No. 182,22 of which the following is a specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the apparatuses and electrical connections at a main station, a sub-station, and a call or alarm station or box, respectively. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the electro-magnet and connections for circuiting the alarm mechanism. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 50 5c of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the armature; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section of the switch-lever of the local alarm-circuit, and Fig. 6 a section of the automatic switch-lever of the call-station switch.

The invention relates to a call system for any purpose whatsoever, either as a fire or other alarm or for police purposes or for connecting public or private buildings, or both with police and fire departments, and for tele phone communications.

The invention has for its object to simplify the construction of the electrical controlling devices usually employed in call systems and to provide a continuous call or telephone cir cuit-that is to say, a circuit without derivations or branches in combination with local alarm-circuits at the main and sub stations.

The further object of the invention is to bring the manipulation of the various apparatus within the scope of the general public and to make their function in a great measure automatic, so as to dispense with certain manipulations that demand more orless skillf ul operators.

To these ends the invention consists in a novel call or alarm system and in the construction of switches therefor, as will now be fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

I will first describe the construction of the two switches S and S before describing the electrical connections between the main and sub stations and between the said stations and the cal1-stations, and I would state here that both switches are arranged vertically on their support, the switch S with the armature of the electro-magnet down and the switch S with the lever-fulcrum in a horizontal plane to allow said lever to swing in a vertical plane.

In Fig. 1 I have shown amain station MS- as, for instance, a police headquarters-mt which station the line-battery is located, a substation SSas, for instance, a police-stationdevoid of a main battery, and a call station or box CS. The main and sub stations are each provided with an alarm mech anism in a local circuit, and all of the stations have a telephone and a switch for automatically cutting out the alarm at all the main and sub stations and switching the tele phones into the main circuit, as shown in Fig. 1.

The alarm-switch at the main and sub stations is composed of an electro-magnet M, whose poles M are provided with extensions m, upon which the armature E, Figs. 1 and 4, is free to slide, said armature being supported from a nut D adjustable upon a screwthreaded head D at the lower end of a rod R, to which head D is screwed an extension R, that has at its outer end a circular head 0', Figs. 1, 2, and The rod R slides freely in a sleeve-bearing D,secnred in the support at for the electro-n1agnet, and is screw-threaded at its upper end and carries a nut N, that serves to limit the downward movement of said rod under the stress of a spring r thereon, whose ends abut, respectively, against the support m and the head D of said rod. The armature E carries two switch-pins c, and S S are contactsprings in the path of said pins.

L is a contact-lever fulcrumed at land normally in contact with a button or anvil S", Fig. 2, said lever being preferably bent into U shape at Z, the bent portion extending in rear of the head or disk 0' at the end of rod R, and P P P P are binding-posts.

The spring 7' is sufficiently strong to overcome the inertia of the rod R, so as to move the same when the electro-magnet M is demagnetized, but said spring is not strong enough to overcome the magnetic attraction when said electro-magnet is magnetized.

From the described construction of the rod B it will be seen that its downward movement can be regulated by means of the nut N and that the armature E can be adjusted toward or from the magnet-poles, as may be found necessary. It will further be seen that when the armature is released the rod will move downward under the stress of the spring r, while, on the other hand, when the rod R is moved upwardly by hand the lever L will also be moved upwardly to its contact S thus avoiding the necessity of manipulating both when they are to be moved back into their normal positions.

The switch devices are secured to a suitable board 0, to which are also secured the binding-posts P P P I and the contact or anvil S The switch S consists of a gravity-lever L, the longer arm L of which being sufliciently heavy to cause it to swing downward on its fulcrum Z, while the short arm L carries a hook l to which the telephone T is normally hooked, and of suitable contact-springs s s and contact-brackets or anvils b b b 0 one end of the springs s 8 being respectively secured to brackets 11 b.

I would here state that the switches S S are included in a normally-closed circuit, the armature of the switches S being held to the magnet-poles and the lever L is normally on its'contact S while the lever L' of the switches S ,having the telephone T hooked to itsshort arm, is normally in contact with the upper spring 5, the alarm at all the stations being cut out of the circuit.

I will now describe the electric circuits, B indicating the main battery at station HS and B the local battery at said station and at the sub-station SS. The current flows from the positive pole of the battery B, station MS, through line-wire 1 to binding-post P- of switch S, contact b spring .9, contact I), binding-post P, line-wire 1, binding-post P of switch S,electro-magnet M, binding-post P, line 1 to binding-post P of switch S, station SS, thence to lever-fulcrum 1*, through lever L to spring 8, contact I), binding-post P, line 1, binding-post P of switch S, electromagnet hhbinding-post P, line 1 to bindingpostP,station GS,thence to contact b,springs, contact 11 binding-post P, line 1, and return to negative pole of battery or to some other call or sub station. It will be seen that all of the stations are included in a normallyclosed circuit. If now the telephone T is taken down at the call-station OS, the lever L will drop onto spring 8 and carry the same to contact 11 of the switch S of said station, thereby momentarily interrupting the circuit, whereby the armatnres E of the electro-magnets M of the switches S at the main and all the sub stations will be released. The rod R will be thrown down, thereby bringing the pins 0 of the armatures in contact with the springs S S and closing the local alarm-circuit through positive-pole battery B, wire 6, alarm A, Wll'G 16, bindingpost P spring S armature E, spring S contact S lever L, and binding-post P to negative pole of battery B. The alarm being heard, the employes at the main and sub stations take down their telephones and move the contact-lever L out of contact with the anvil S thereby interrupting the local circuit and cutting the switches S out of the line-circuit and establishing a telephone-circuit through the switches S without derivations or branches, and consequently one of least resistance, which circuit is established as follows: Branch wire 2 of battery B, station MS, binding-post P of switch S, contact b spring 3, contact I), binding-post P wire 4, telephone T, wire 5, binding-post P of switch S, line 1, binding-post P, switch S of sub-station SS, leverfulerum Z lever L, spring 3, contact I), binding-post P wire 8, telephone T, wire 9, binding-post P, line 1, binding-post P of switch S, wire 10, telephone T at the call-station OS, wire 11, binding-post P contact Z), spring 3, contacts 1) b binding-post P, and line 1 back to negative pole of battery 13' or to some other station. The object of the callbeing made known, the telephones are again suspended to levers L, whereby said telephones are switched out of the main circuit. Then rod R is pushedup to carry the armature E in contact with the poles of the electro-magnet M, and simultaneously therewith the lever L is carried back to its contact S the local cir cuits beinginterrupted by reason of the pins (3 having been moved out of contact with the springs S S the elements being again in their normal condition. Supposing, however, that the attendant at thesub-station SS were to neglect to take down his telephone, 7

s, bracket 1), binding-post P, line 1, bindi'ngpost P of switch S of said station, thence by wire 10 to telephone T of call-station OS,,and so on, as described above. It will thus be seen that. when a call is made at any of the call-stations within the circuit all of the main and sub stations within said. circuit are cognizant of it and can be communicated with, and each of said main and sub stations can in its turn communicate with the call-station.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A call system comprising a normallyclosed telephone-circuit, a plurality of main and call stations in said circuit, a normallyinterrupted local alarm-circuit at each ot'said main stations, a switch in the local and telephone circuits at said main stations adapted to automatically close the local alarm-circuit by dropping out of the magnetic influence of the telephone-circuit when the'latter is interrupted, and a gravity switch-lever at each call-station arranged to vibrate between contacts in the telephone-circuit and operating when released to momentarily interrupt said circuit and again close the same, for the purpose set forth.

2. The herein-described switch, comprising an electro-magnet, a spring-actuated armature-rod provided With a projection or flange at its free end, and an armature secured, to said rod and provided with contact-pins, in combination with a line-circuit connected with the electro-magnet, a local circuit connected with contacts in the path of the armature-pins, and a circuit-breaker for said local circuit lying in the path of the projection on the armature-rod, whereby the said circuitcloser is automatically moved into its normal position when the armature-rod and arn1ature are moved into their normal position, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The switch S, composed of an electro- 20 magnet M, whose poles M have attenuated extensions m, the spring-actuated rod R, the armature E, adjustably secured to said rod, said armature having contact-pins e, and the contacts S S substantially as and for the 25 purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of September, 1887.

LOUIS DIGEON.

Witnesses:

Ronr. M. Hoornn, EMMANUEL Borsson. 

